She & Him: A Very She & Him Christmas
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This came out in 2011, which is probably when I first listened to it. I'm listening again in 2021 to write a review.

1. "The Christmas Waltz": I don't think I'm familiar with this song. No, wait, I am. Sort of. It just doesn't sound like I'd expect it to. Not that I remember what any other version I've heard of sounds like. Whatever, it's okay.

2. "Christmas Day": I really don't think I'm familiar with this one. It's okay.

3. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas": This one I think is fairly well suited to She & Him's style. By which I mean it sounds pretty much like I'd expect it to sound. So the only thing to set it apart from other versions is Zooey Deschanel's singing voice, which I always like.

4. "I'll Be Home for Christmas": Ditto.

5. "Christmas Wish": I'm pretty sure I haven't heard this before. It's okay.

6. "Sleigh Ride": See track 3. Except this one's faster. While I think a lot of She & Him's songs tend to be just a bit too slow, this one's almost too fast. But it's decent.

7. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree": It's nice, but the original by Brenda Lee is better.

8. "Silver Bells": It's nice, but I've heard better versions.

9. "Baby, It's Cold Outside": It's interesting in that the male and female parts of the song are reversed from the usual.

10. "Blue Christmas": I mean, Zooey's no Elvis, but it's nice enough.

11. "Little Saint Nick": I'm not sure whether I like this more or less than the Beach Boys' version. But it's nice to hear something that sounds a little different from the original, if only because it's a woman's voice instead of men's voices.

12. "The Christmas Song": You can't really go wrong with this song. My favorite version is probably Nat King Cole's, but I can't think of any rendition that I haven't liked.

Well, I fear I've sounded not especially enthusiastic in my notes on most of the songs, but I need to say that I am a fan of She & Him and their whole style, which is rather old-fashioned. I may not like the album quite as much as I wish I did, but it's definitely a keeper.

tek's rating: ¾

She & Him: Christmas Party
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This came out in 2016. I got it in 2022. Most of the songs are sung by just Zooey Deschanel, but some of them also include M. Ward, and sometimes other people.

1. "All I Want for Christmas Is You": It's always interesting to hear different artists' takes on this song, but they're never quite as good as Mariah Carey's original. And TBH this is probably my least favorite cover of the song that I've heard.

2. "Let It Snow": It's okay.

3. "Must Be Santa": This is a song I haven't heard a lot of, and I don't specifically remember any version I've heard before. But I've probably preferred whatever previous version (by Bob Dylan at least, maybe someone else as well) I heard at the time that I heard it. But this is okay, too.

4. "Happy Holiday": A decent rendition, but I still prefer Bing Crosby's, I guess. And Andy Williams's version.

5. "Mele Kalikimaka": A decent rendition, I think my favorite version is probably by Jimmy Buffett, though.

6. "Christmas Memories": I don't think I've ever heard this song before, so I can't compare She & Him's version to any previous ones, which allows me to like this more than I might otherwise. It's definitely nice.

7. "Run Run Rudolph": This one is predominantly sung by M. Ward rather than Zooey. It's not bad, but it still might be my least favorite rendition of the song that I've heard.

8. "Winter Wonderland": This is a duet between Zooey Deschanel and Jenny Lewis (of the band Rilo Kiley). It's pretty nice. Not my favorite rendition, but pretty good.

9. "The Coldest Night of the Year": I don't think I've ever heard this song before. It's okay, but I don't think I'll find it memorable.

10. "A Marshmallow World": This is a song I'd expect to really like by She & Him. And I do, but not as much as some other renditions I've heard before. I feel like it might be better if it were slower.

11. "The Man with the Bag": This is probably almost as good as Kay Starr's version, but not quite.

12. "Christmas Don't Be Late": It's interesting to hear someone other than the Chipmunks sing this. It's hard to compare the two versions, though, because they're so different. This one definitely sounds better than the Chipmunks, but I still think I like the Chipmunks' version better, because it's more memorable.

Well, I think I'd probably like this album more if I were just listening to it instead of trying to review it, because I like Deschanel's voice more than I like the sound of me typing on my computer. I'd probably rate it a bit higher upon a re-listen, but I'm not sure if or when I might do that. For that matter, I'd probably also like the first album better on a re-listen. (I suspect I liked the first one slightly better than this one. I could be wrong, though.)